2014 CarbonPoker Card Player Player of the Year Update -- Dylan Wilkerson Climbs To Second Place

The World Series of Poker is nearing it’s climax, with the 2014 WSOP main event now just days from starting. So far the series has had a huge impact on the 2014 Card Player Player of the Year race, sponsored by CarbonPoker, much as expected. There were also several big non-WSOP tournaments that wrapped up this week. Here is a look at the events that most influenced the overall standings over the past seven days:

WSOP Event 46 – $50,000 Poker Players Championship Eight-Game Mix

John Hennigan has won the 2014 World Series of Poker $50,000 Poker Players Championship, arguably the most prestigious tournament in poker. For topping the elite field of 102 players in the eight-game mix event he earned his third gold bracelet, the $1,517,767 first-place prize and the honor of his name being etched on the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy.

In the end it came down to a heads-up battle between Hennigan and the breakout star of the summer Brandon Shack-Harris. The 33-year-old poker pro from Chicago, IL has had an incredible run at the Rio this year, winning his first bracelet in a $1,000 pot-limit Omaha event, finishing runner-up in the $10,000 razz championship and then placing third in a $1,500 limit hold’em event. Shack-Harris fell short of winning his second bracelet of the summer, hitting the rail as the runner-up with $937,975.

In addition to the hardware and the money there were also plenty of POY points awarded at this final table. Hennigan earned 1,020 POY points for the win. When combined with his points from his earlier runner-up finish in a $1,500 no-limit hold’em event for $319,993 he now sits in 29th place in the overall standings with 1,920 points and year-to-date earnings of $1,837,760. For his runner-up showing Shack-Harris earned 850 points, enough to catapult him into sixth place in the overall standings with 2,890 points and year-to-date earnings of $1,405,740.

WSOP Event 48 – $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better

31-year-old Tyler Patterson has emerged victorious in the 2014 World Series of Poker $1,500 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event, earning his first gold bracelet and the $270,992 first-place prize.

A total of 991 players turned out for this event, building a $1,337,850 prize pool, but after two action packed days of this fast-paced game the field was narrowed down to just eleven players. Clements took the chip lead into the final day, looking to win his third bracelet in a third distinct Omaha variant. His first bracelet win came came in limit Omaha eight-or-better in 2006 and his second in pot-limit Omaha high in 2007. Clements survived to heads-up play with Patterson with the two essentially tied in chips. Patterson came out on top, sending Clements to the rail as the runner up with $167,686.

As far as the POY points awarded at this final table, Patterson earned 912 for the win, while Clements scored 760. Fourth-place finisher Jeff Madsen earned 456 at his third final table of the year, moving him into 42nd place in the overall rankings. Ninth-place finisher Dylan Wilkerson earned 76 points at his third final table of 2014, having previously finished runner-up in two World Poker Tour main events this year. This win moved him into fifth place, but just a few days later he would make another final table to climb even higher (see event 54 below).

WSOP Event 51 – $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack

A total of 7,862 players entered the $1,500 no-limit hold’em ‘monster stack’ event, creating a prize pool of $10,613,700. It was the third largest live tournament in poker history and needed a last minute scramble in order to accommodate all of the players.

In the end the last player standing was Frenchman Hugo Pingray who came out on top, earning his first gold WSOP bracelet and the massive $1,327,083 first-place prize.

Runner-up Joseph Mckeehen earned $820,863 and 1,100 for his strong showing. This was the Wales, PA resident’s sixth final table finish of the year, with four titles won along the way including a win in a $2,000 Venetian Deepstacks Extravaganza III event for $101,864. McKeehen now sits in seventh place in the overall standings with $1,155,984 in year-to-date earnings and 2,780 POY points.

WSOP Event 54 – $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better

The $3,000 buy-in pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event at the 2014 World Series of Poker attracted 474 entrants, creating a total prize pool of $1,294,020. There were eight Americans at the final table, but none of them could top German pro Florian Langmann for the title.

Langmann, from Hamburg, Germany, picked up $297,650 and his first gold WSOP bracelet. This was the second largest score of Langmann’s career. He earned $644,957 back in 2007 for finishing runner up in the EPT London main event. He now has over $2 million in career tournament earnings.

Finishing in third place was none other than Dylan Wilkerson. For his fourth final table finish of the year he earned $122,427 and 720 points, bringing his total to 3,316 points and as a result moving him into second place in the overall rankings. Wilkerson now has year-to-date earnings of $1,076,307.

Bellagio $100,000 No-Limit High Roller

The Bellagio decided to up their usual $25,000 buy-in monthly tournament to $100,000 due to the number of high rollers in town and it paid off in a big way. As word spread throughout the high-stakes community about the one-day turbo tournament, a massive field of 87 players jumped in, creating a total prize pool of $8,613,000.

Due to the unexpected demand, the event started around 2:45 p.m. on Friday. It wasn’t until 6:40 a.m. on Saturday morning that a winner was declared. Even then, it took a four-way chop to put an end to the event.

When all was said and done, it was high-stakes regular Dan Smith who came out on top, taking home $2,044,000. Jason Mercier, who was in second place at the time of the deal, banked $1,622,000. Tom Marchese earned $1,465,000 for his third-place finish and Jason Somerville picked up $1,327,000 for hanging on to fourth place.

With his victory Smith earned 960 Card Player Player of the Year points, giving him 2,030 total, good enough for 24th place overall. He now has over $7.9 million in career tournament earnings. Fifth-place finisher in the event Doug Polk earned $602,910 and 400 points at his fifth final table of the year. Polk has one title in 2014, having emerged victorious in the $1,000 no-limit hold’em turbo to win his first WSOP gold bracelet just weeks ago. As a result of all his deep runs Polk now sits in 13th place in overall standings with 2,410 points and $1,855,253 in year-to-date earnings.

Hollywood Poker Open Main Event

The Hollywood Poker Open Championship kicked off Friday at the M Resort Spa and Casino in Las Vegas and after an extended registration period, a total of 692 players posted the $2,500 buy-in creating a prize pool of $1,560,450. The field exceeded the 631 players that participated in 2013.

The three-day event capped off the second season of the HPO, which featured regional stops in Lawrenceburg, Tunica, Grantville, St. Louis, Charles Town and Columbus. Numerous qualifiers flooded the tournament, which featured a generous 25,000 in starting chips and 60-minute levels.

In the end, the title went to British pro Simon Deadman, who banked the $351,097 first-place prize. It was the largest score of Deadman’s career, giving him $766,000 in lifetime tournament earnings.

Deadman also earned 1,260 points for his finish, giving him a total of 2,280 when you factor in the three prior final tables he already made in 2014. He is now sitting in 16th place in the rankings as a result of this most recent win.

Here is a look at the current top 20 in the 2014 POY standings:

Rank	Player	POY Points	Earnings
1	Mustapha Kanit	4,514	$1,234,776
2	Dylan Wilkerson	3,316	$1,076,307
3	Dominik Panka	3,315	$1,840,936
4	Mike McDonald	3,312	$4,357,089
5	Keven Stammen	3,052	$1,610,129
6	Brandon Shack-Harris	2,890	$1,405,740
7	Joseph McKeehen	2,780	$1,155,984
8	Davidi Kitai	2,588	$1,377,077
9	Mukul Pahuja	2,514	$1,060,582
10	Jake Schindler	2,500	$1,436,877
11	Eugene Katchalov	2,480	$725,061
12	Ami Barer	2,430	$1,493,335
13	Doug Polk	2,410	$1,855,253
14	J.C. Tran	2,376	$798,801
15	James Carroll	2,372	$1,324,754
16	Simon Deadman	2,280	$576,289
17	Vanessa Selbst	2,276	$2,239,368
18	Sorel Mizzi	2,170	$1,045,207
19	Calvin Anderson	2,114	$526,335
20	Chris Moorman	2,100	$1,015,460

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